Tiger's Den: The Restoration
by SharkAria
Summary: Kaoru takes a business trip with her married boss Kenshin, for whom she harbors a secret, hopeless love. While on the trip, she meets a man who seems frighteningly familiar. Semi-sequel to "Tiger's Den". Enishi/Kaoru, modern day with some throwbacks to the Meiji Era.


Tiger's Den: The Restoration

Chapter 1

by SharkAria

Summary: Kaoru takes a business trip with her married boss Kenshin, for whom she harbors a secret, hopeless love. While on the trip, she meets a man who seems frighteningly familiar. Semi-sequel to "Tiger's Den". Enishi/Kaoru, modern day with some throwbacks to the Meiji Era.

A/N: This is kind of a sequel to my non-AU fic, "Tiger's Den," but you probably don't have to read that to generally understand what's going on here. Note about "Tiger's Den": There is still one chapter that I haven't posted yet, but this story does not yet have any spoilers for that fic. Brief summary of "Tiger's Den": While being held captive on the island, Kaoru protects a deeply psychologically damaged Enishi from his subordinate, Wu Heishin, who poses a threat to both of them. Enishi falls in love with Kaoru and accidentally lets her know it.

Warnings/Notifications: Eventual non-explicit adult content. Also, I went a little overboard on the world building here. I promise that there will be plenty of romantic stuff too.

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><p>OoO<p>

Kaoru was expecting a wealth of new experiences during her attendance at the weeklong trade mission to the fledgling archipelagic nation of Dao, but she did not anticipate the uncomfortable, nearly constant crush of deja vu that has plagued her since she stepped off the ferry and onto the Xinyue island dock. She has felt similarly from time to time in Tokyo, but it has never gotten this bad back home. On occasion, she's walked along a street in an old part of town, texting Yahiko about dinner or homework, and as she passes an innocuous-looking hot pot restaurant or seedy old apartment building, she is overwhelmed with a strange certainty that she has been there before. Once in a while she even gets flashes of images that feel as vivid as memories, even though they depict nothing she has ever known or seen - a beautiful woman with red lipstick bandaging a man's arm; a wooden sword gripped in hands that look like hers; a pair of violet eyes that remind her of Kenshin's.

Most of the time when she gets these weird dream-memories, she just shakes them off, but here on this remote island where she needs to focus on work all week, she keeps getting seized by inexplicable anxiety that clashes with the relaxed, tropical setting. During meetings in the hotel conference room, when she is supposed to be taking copious notes as she sits beside Kenshin, she finds herself staring out the windows that overlook the bay - and she is convinced several times that she spots a big military steamer on the horizon, even though she knows that the only boat that size that sails out here is the ferry from the main island that comes twice per day. And every morning, when she jogs along the curving, deserted beach, she swears that she witnesses two men in the distance beating the absolute hell out of one another. But every time she sees this confusing scene, she blinks and the men disappear; then she sees nothing but the white sand curving along the turquoise ocean, a couple high-rise hotels jutting up out of the jungle, and further up the cliffs, shabby apartment blocks where the local fishermen, loggers, and hotel workers live.

Kaoru's uncomfortable feeling finally starts to ease up halfway through the trip, when Kenshin successfully negotiates a major deal between the resort hotel developers and the Dao government's Bureau of Transportation. Finally, after many tense arbitration sessions between government officials and private companies, Kenshin is acknowledged by all trade mission attendees to be the mediation master that he is, and Kaoru, as his trusted assistant, feels pretty damn cool by association. The oppressive familiarity of the island recedes into the periphery of Kaoru's mind, and she looks forward to a night of hallucination-free celebration with her boss, who promises to meet up with her after a private dinner with one of his clients.

It is little wonder, then, that Kaoru is deeply disappointed to find herself feeling suddenly and poignantly like the unpopular kid in class when she walks into the hotel lounge after the long workday. When she steps across the threshold of the lounge this evening without Kenshin by her side, she realizes that she is wearing all the wrong clothes, and she becomes painfully aware of the dismissive glances from the many experienced professionals patronizing the establishment.

Her black scoop-neck blouse and dark washed jeans that she changed into after the day's last meeting announce plainly to everyone in the room that she is a business travel novice; even worse, the tight, thick denim makes her uncomfortably warm in this humid, tropical place. Here in this setting, even the women who were buttoned up in tailored suits earlier have donned flowing linen dresses and chunky bohemian jewelry, while the men have mostly ditched their ties and blazers and have rolled up their sleeves. Kaoru silently berates herself for declining Megumi's offer to let her borrow that lavender wrap dress for the trip. But it's too late now; besides this outfit, she only packed conservative sweater and skirt combos, spandex workout stuff, and pajamas. Flustered, but not so significantly that she is deterred from entering, she ignores the titters from some especially fashion forward customers at the front, tosses her long ponytail over her shoulder, and heads deeper into the low-lit room.

The lounge reflects the blended tastes of the Wu Xing Hotel's foreign investors and upper class customers; though Dao is considered a developing nation, it hosts a number of trendy, expensive Chinese-owned resorts like this one along the white sand beaches of its half dozen islands. While this place is certainly luxurious, the main reason that the trade mission organizers booked the WX Hotel here on Xinyue Island was for its relative isolation. Perhaps the organizers hoped that by cramming a bunch of businesspeople, government officials and consultants onto the small crescent-shaped island far away from civilization, they would be forced to compromise to solve their various disagreements. In Kaoru's opinion, other than the deal that Kenshin made today, the strategy has not worked very well; it certainly doesn't reduce her awkward feelings about the judging glances she is getting right now. At least her head is clear of visions for the moment.

Kaoru eagerly looks for Kenshin, but she does not immediately see him. She takes stock of the place and looks toward the circular bar, which rises from the center of the room like the command center of a spaceship; the bottles of alcohol glow alternating blue and green from LEDs embedded in the platform. Beyond the bar is a bank of floor-to-ceiling glass accordion doors that have been opened and compressed to the sides, allowing people to drift out to the balcony overlooking the bay and letting in the balmy night air. In booths along the other three walls, trade mission attendees from across Asia are interspersed with Western tourists; they sit and drink in low, wide seats that flank squat black tables. Pendant lamps illuminate the shiny tabletops, allowing the customers to recline in the shadows.

She finally spots Kenshin holed up in a corner booth, his dark blazer blending with the black walls. Apparently he has come straight from dinner to the bar, as he wears the same clothes he has had on all day. He is deep in conversation with an older man in pinstripes that she recognizes from the corporate sabotage presentation this morning. She starts to approach, but when her eyes meet Kenshin's, he waves her off with a subtle jerk of his chin that the man opposite him does not seem to notice. As her heart sinks, she about-faces without so much as a stutter in her step and heads back to the spaceship bar.

A swiveling steel stool beckons, and Kaoru plops down onto it in resignation. She has needed a drink since about halfway through the late afternoon meeting between the Daoese Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Japanese CEO of Kanryuu Hardwoods International, when Kenshin resorted to physically separating the two men as they heatedly debated which entity would pay for armed security to protect the timber harvesters from eco-terrorists calling themselves the Four Gods. Kaoru should have known then that she would not even be able to relax this evening with a pitcher of sake and Kenshin, alone and away from Tomoe.

The very thought of Kenshin's wife sends Kaoru into a spiral of guilty mortification. It's not that she wants Kenshin to cheat on Tomoe - Kenshin would never, ever do such a thing - it's just that sometimes, after work, she likes to hear Kenshin's calm voice recounting the events of the day; to see his beatific smile as he speaks hopefully about helping others resolve their seemingly insoluble conflicts; to forget for a few minutes that the man she loves in the core of her soul will never view her as more than a respected colleague and friend.

Kaoru snaps away from these melancholy thoughts when the bartender, a petite, beautiful woman who is probably a transplant from Manila, or maybe Luzon, hands her a drink menu translated into four languages. Mercifully, Japanese is one of them. Kaoru looks up again and the bartender says something to her in heavily accented Chinese, the language of business in Dao, then flashes a gleaming smile. Kaoru smiles back uncertainly; in spite of her efforts to learn it, her Mandarin is pretty awful, and she doubts that she can complete this transaction in the language, especially with another non-native speaker. She glances back down at the menu and points to a drink she remembers glamorous celebrities ordering in American movies. The bartender winks, plucks the menu from Kaoru's fingers, and turns around to mix the drink.

A moment later, Kaoru senses rather than sees a man take the seat next to her. His presence irritates her because it cuts into the self-pitying thoughts she had planned to drown with booze. Besides, there is plenty of room along the counter, and the last thing she feels like doing is struggling through a stilted conversation with some middle-aged, overweight businessman in some language she probably doesn't speak well. Unfortunately, the situation is one she's experienced at the other few security conferences and trade missions where she's accompanied Kenshin; it is one of the hazards of being a pretty, unaccompanied foreign woman at a bar. She puts her elbow on the counter, rests her head against her hand and slouches as she faces away from him. Hopefully the stranger will get the hint.

Apparently he doesn't, because he addresses Kaoru in spite of her obvious disinterest. "From Tokyo?" he asks in Japanese, with an accent she can't quite place but that nevertheless sounds familiar.

Kaoru sighs heavily and rolls her eyes. Evidently, if she wants to salvage this evening, she will have to engage in just enough small talk to ditch this loser and check in again with Kenshin. She straightens her shoulders and spins the barstool in his direction, exasperation etched into her visage.

She is surprised to see an extremely handsome and well-dressed young man gazing back at her. Even though he is seated, she can tell that he is very tall, at least a head over her. His spiky hair is a beautiful silver shade, nearly white, but his face is unlined and his shoulders are broad; he cannot yet have left his twenties. He wears what must be very expensive eyeglasses and a fussy little pendant earring that strikes a dissonant chord with his otherwise harmonious attire. His navy collared shirt looks clean and fresh, even though he has rolled up the sleeves. An orange rubber fitness monitor is strapped around his wrist, announcing to the world that he pays attention to his health, although anybody looking at him from a hundred meters away could see that he is in peak physical condition. He is, by far, the best looking man Kaoru has seen on the trip, and she begins to doubt her previous certainty that he came over to flirt with her.

After giving the man a once-over, Kaoru finally responds. "Yeah, from Tokyo. You?"

The bartender turns around and serves Kaoru a pink, fruit-adorned drink in a martini glass. It is the most ridiculous looking cocktail Kaoru has ever seen, and she feels self-conscious as she reaches for it to take a sip. For some reason, she is embarrassed that the man's first impression of her is that she is the kind of person who orders this alcohol monstrosity.

The bartender addresses the man, who responds to her in flawless Mandarin. She raises her eyebrow coyly, clearly impressed, and puts an extra twist in her hip as she walks further down the bar to make the drink.

Kaoru abruptly and peculiarly feels vexed by the subtle flirtation. She glances back at the man to see if he is watching the bartender, but he is not. Instead, he meets her eyes rather intensely. It's kind of unnerving, but at least it does not bring up weird visions, like so many other experiences Kaoru has had on this island so far.

The corners of his mouth turn up. "I'm visiting from Tokyo as well. Though I recently moved there from Shanghai. And from Kyoto before that."

So that explains the Chinese fluency and the accent, but not the feeling of uneasy familiarity. She cannot have met him before; she would have remembered someone so attractive, if for no other reason than to prove to Megumi that she notices hot guys all the time, and that she's over Kenshin once and for all - though of course she isn't, and she never will be.

He places his card on the counter in front of Kaoru.

She nods and politely picks it up in both hands. His name, "Yukishiro Enishi," and a generic email are listed on the thick paper, but that's it. She turns it over. Two words are embossed in neat calligraphy: "Tenchuu - Justice of the Heavens" and "Jinchuu - Justice of Man". She can't tell if the sentiment is meant to be contradictory or complementary. It is pretty weird, like everything else about this guy.

"It doesn't say where you work," she says, stating the obvious, her mouth tugging into a frown.

"Most of the people who have that card already know what I do," he asserts. At first Kaoru thinks he is being an arrogant jerk, but the way he speaks makes her consider that perhaps he is just being honest.

The bartender returns with a giggle and places a cognac glass half-filled with amber liquid in front of Enishi, then skips away. Enishi takes a sip of his drink and turns back to Kaoru as though he is trying to figure out whether she should say more or leave it at that.

Kaoru isn't sure that she wants to play this game, and she wonders if she should just snatch up her nail polish drink and crash Kenshin's table, Pinstripe Guy be damned. But there is something about the shape of Enishi's eyes, the angle of his jawline, the timbre of his voice that Kaoru desperately wishes to place.

"I am doing reconnaissance for some people who are interested in the results of the trade mission," Enishi finally adds with a shrug.

Well, at least he isn't just a creepy tourist. Kaoru digs into her purse and pulls out her own card, handing it to him as she says, "I'm here for the mission too. Trying to work out a peaceful resolution for some of the problems that Japanese companies are having when they try to make infrastructure upgrades in Dao."

Kaoru watches Enishi's eyes as they skate over the characters on the card, which indicate that she is "Kamiya Kaoru, Special Assistant, Sakabatou Relations. Private Security Consultations, Mediation Services, and Intergovernmental Defense Analyses". It then lists the various methods for getting in touch with her. She had been proud when Kenshin had ordered business cards for her, and prouder still when she saw the title he had bestowed upon her. Although she knows better, she feels continually disappointed that whenever she exchanges cards with people, they do not share her excitement about her company position.

"Kaoru," Enishi reads, pronouncing her name with a slight southwestern lilt. A shadow of confusion crosses his face before he pockets the card. "You are here to convince Kanryuu to keep his logging enterprise going after the Four Gods bombed his timber ship."

Kaoru narrows her eyes at Enishi. He is better informed than she first thought. She tosses her ponytail over her shoulder and replies, "That's one of the major accounts we're trying to settle, but we're also here because the same group threatened other proposed developments, saying they will blow up some new hotel construction sites, bridges, that kind of stuff. The companies we're working with need assurances from the Dao government that their investments won't be destroyed."

Enishi listens raptly. His expression is hard to read; Kaoru can't tell if he is deeply disapproving of what she has just said, or if he is just surprised that the cute girl he was planning to flirt with has a brain.

Kaoru continues her explanation. "Really, we care less about a the rich investors and more about the Daoese workers who are scared to go to their jobs with a loony terrorist group running around. If we don't figure out how to keep the companies here, a lot of people will be out of work and their families will starve." Kaoru takes a gulp of the pink booze; the sweet, astringent flavor stings her throat. She grimaces and sets the glass down. "If you're following what's going on around here, most of this should be news to you."

Enishi nods, a smirk forming on his face. "Not enough people on this mission seem to realize that all their profits and tax revenues depend on the workers." He adjusts his glasses and his earring twinkles; Kaoru looks closer and notices that it is a weird little yin yang sphere. "You're wrong to think that working out a deal between the government and the corporations is going to solve the problems of the Daoese people, but at least you are trying to imagine some of the consequences for the locals."

Aggravated, Kaoru presses her lips into a thin line. Kenshin's guiding credo for every mediation session is that the people's interests come first, and Kaoru is frustrated that Enishi questions her boss's - and her - dedication to that goal. "I think we are doing a decent job making sure that we help the people in this country."

"Don't you think it is a little naive to say that?" he questions. "You know more about the world than many, but you should understand that whatever course you chart will result in terrible consequences for some people. It grates on me when people who claim to be do-gooders don't acknowledge that."

Kaoru sucks in her bottom lip, pouting. Enishi can't be more than a few years older than she is, but he's treating her like a kid.

"Well if you are so smart, what would you do differently?" She takes another sip of her drink to keep herself from saying something really rude.

Enishi taps his nails against the counter. "For one thing, I would have invited a representative from the Four Gods to express their grievances."

Kaoru nearly sprays a mist of pink spit across the bar. This Enishi guy is clearly crazy. Who would invite a bunch of explosion experts to an official governmental function? "Is that who you are working for?" She asks incredulously.

Enishi smiles broadly then, clearly pleased that he has shocked her. "If I were, do you think I would tell you?"

Kaoru grinds her teeth in anger; she's had enough of this hot yet weird dude. Why the hell hasn't Kenshin finished up yet? She pulls some Dao currency out of her purse and tosses it on the bar, then stands up to leave.

"Wait, Kaoru," Enishi says, and reaches toward her. His hand hovers over her shoulder, but he pulls back before he touches her. "I am not working for the Four Gods." He fishes his wallet out of his back pocket and takes out a black hotel room key card. The bartender hurries over, ready to fill another order.

"Will you let me get your next drink as an apology for the teasing? Then we can continue this conversation out on the balcony." His smile seems sincere.

Kaoru glances back to the corner booth where Kenshin is still enmeshed in discussion. Now in addition to the first guy, a curvy woman in a low cut red dress has joined the group. Kenshin's brow is furrowed in concern, or maybe anger, and he does not notice Kaoru trying to catch his eye. When the man works, he puts all of his concentration into it. It is one of Kenshin's many qualities that both impresses and frustrates Kaoru.

She looks back at Enishi, who returns her gaze expectantly. She shrugs and sighs. If nothing else, she will get to brag to Megumi about meeting a handsome stranger. "Sure, why not. Got nothing better to do than listen to your crazy theories. Just get me whatever you are ordering."

Enishi spits out a few syllables of Mandarin, and the bartender returns with two bottles of Chinese beer. She pops the caps off and slides the a bottle over to Kaoru, who gulps the refreshing bitter liquid gratefully. It washes away the pink sugar film in which her tongue is coated.

Enishi rises and Kaoru follows him through the accordion doors and out onto the wide balcony. A couple of European vacationers lean against the railing and giggle as they put their arms around one another, but otherwise the space is empty. The bright moon illuminates a strip along the dark water, and the rolling ocean waves lap at the sand a few stories below. The fresh, warm breeze invigorates Kaoru, and she finally feels the peace and calm that has been eluding her since she got to Xinyue.

A click and a hiss come from Enishi's direction; Kaoru looks over to see that he has lit a cigarette. Smoke laced with the scent of cinnamon and cloves wafts toward her. It's not the stale, revolting smell that used to make her gag when she emptied ashtrays as a waitress at Tae's restaurant; in fact, it's rather pleasant. But she's always thought of smoking as a major taboo; a dangerous habit only for gamblers and hostess girls. The very fact that someone in such good shape would be a smoker shocks Kaoru. "That's not very good for you," she scolds.

Enishi looks at her with that same strange intensity and smiles. He takes a single, long drag, then flicks it over the balcony and into the ocean waves below. "I don't usually worry about the kinds of things that kill old men," he replies morbidly.

The response dislodges a question she had on her mind before he got her off track with his annoying comments about her and Kenshin's work. "On your card - 'tenchuu' and 'jinchuu' - what's that about? What you talked about back there makes it seem like you don't believe in justice brought about by anyone."

"I don't. But my clients do."

Kaoru tilts her head in confusion mixed with contempt. She should have known he was some kind of free market denizen.

Enishi eyes flick across Kaoru's face; he seems to feel comfortable enough to explain. He looks out toward the bay before he continues. "In my line of work, I have provided, um, security services to people who feel that they deserve protection as well as power. Some of them claim they have a God given right; some of them say they have a right to revenge. Maybe they are correct - it's not my place to judge their reasons when they pay me for my help."

Kaoru sucks in her breath and the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Kenshin explained to her long ago that "security services" was a euphemism for arms dealing - sometimes legal, sometimes not. She questions the wisdom of standing out here, exposed and away from her boss.

Enishi laughs and looks down at his feet. "I know what you are thinking. Look, I only broker legal transactions. And I will remind you one more time that I don't work for the Four Gods." His eyes meet hers again and he continues, "Ultimately, I believe that most reasons that my clients give when they ask for my help are just excuses to lash out at the pain they feel from past grievances. It may sound strange to say, but I feel this to be true deep in my soul, as if I somehow learned this lesson first hand, although I certainly have not."

Kaoru's irritation evaporates, and she nods in amazement. His explanation is the closest that anyone has ever put into words the way she feels when she gets her disconcerting visions. She is intrigued that Enishi comprehends something of these experiences. She puts all her weight on one foot and shifts toward him. "If you feel that way about your clients, then why do you still deal in weapons? Isn't that making the problem worse?"

He pauses again, reaches into his breast pocket for the pack of cigarettes before remembering that he has implicitly agreed not to smoke next to Kaoru, and drops his hand to the railing of the balcony. "Maybe you and I are both trying to achieve the same ends, through different means. Who am I to say that my clients are wrong in their goals? They feel that they need my services to keep themselves and their interests safe. And that's just what you said you want to do as well." He grips the railing hard; the veins and sinews stretched tight across his hand, and Kaoru gets the feeling that she has seen this all somewhere before. "What I'm trying to say is, people like your boss need to remember that there is more than one view of what peace is supposed to look like."

The conversation is a lot to process, and Kaoru falls silent. She gazes across the bay, admiring the sparkling lights in the distance. She knows that she's really just looking at block after block of slummy housing with stolen electricity, but in the darkness it appears beautiful. Out on the water, she sees green and red flashes from the bows of small motor boats skimming across the surface. Kaoru wonders if some of them are smuggling guns out to pirates on the tiny islands beyond the straight.

When she looks back at Enishi, the experience that she has avoided all evening crashes over her like a rogue wave deluging a sea wall. The moonlight is shut out by a hot sun over an azure sky; the tall buildings on the island cliffs disappear under the thick jungle foliage. A man who looks like Enishi stands before her, his face beaten and bruised, his arm useless and bandaged in a sling. He seems to be sizing her up. Kaoru shakes her head and the vision disappears; the Enishi here on Xinyue is back in his stylish attire, and his face is clear and handsome. But his expression is the same as that of the injured man's.

Kaoru is disoriented by the quick plunge back into reality. She takes a step back and brushes her bangs out of her eyes.

"You OK?" Enishi cocks his head to the side in concern.

Kaoru swallows, her mouth dry. "Yeah, just fine. Got dizzy for a second."

Before Enishi can inquire further, Kaoru is distracted by her phone vibrating against her hip. She breaks eye contact with Enishi and yanks the phone out of her pocket to check the screen. It's a text from Kenshin, asking if she is ready to go. She types out a quick affirmative response.

"My boss and I have a breakfast meeting, so I should go." She whips the phone back into her jeans and looks back up at Enishi, unsure of how to leave things with him.

"It has been worthwhile talking to you," Enishi says, and unexpectedly thrusts his hand forward like a Westerner.

It's an odd gesture. Perhaps it is a habit he picked up in Shanghai, or on some other assignment in another part of the world. But she is curious, and she takes his hand in hers. As she does, she sees herself handing a old calligraphy notebook to the battered man who looks like Enishi. In this vision, he is even more beat up, with blood pouring out of one ear down the side of his face, and a vacant, defeated expression. Even more curiously, he is slumped over and handcuffed.

She blinks and sees that now she is simply holding his hand, long past the point that it might have been considered awkward. Heat rushes to her cheeks and she drops his hand. She cringes, blushing, and smiles at him apologetically; he regards her with furrowed brows.

A shadow passes across his face, and he returns her smile. "I am here for another three nights. What about you?"

"Leaving on Friday."

"I'll be here at the bar tomorrow night, if you want to join me."

Kaoru stares at him with wide eyes, not believing she has heard him correctly. Why would this strange man would want to keep talking to her about their strongly diverging views on the world? He is probably just being polite. But he looks like he expects her to respond, so she stammers, "Uh - sure -" as she backs away toward the doors.

He pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I look forward to it."

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A/N: I made up the island nation where Enishi and Kaoru meet. This story is not some kind of commentary on a specific place. I just wanted the characters to see one another for the first time again on what could have become of the island where Enishi brought Kaoru in their earlier life.

Other fun facts: According to Google, Dao means "island" in Mandarin Chinese (yes, I named the island nation "Island Nation". It's fun to be lazy.) As for the specific vacation spot where the trade mission takes place, "Xinyue" means "crescent moon".

A/N 2: I thought about changing the names of some of the main characters, since it seemed kind of weird to have them be, like, reincarnated from their former selves but still have exactly the same names. But this is fanfic, and I figured it would make for easier reading if all the characters still had exactly the same names as their former selves.


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